Brown must fulfill promise

When Gov. Jerry Brown was pushing prison realignment, he promised the state's 58 counties wouldn't be left paying the costs.

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Posted Feb. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Posted Feb. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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When Gov. Jerry Brown was pushing prison realignment, he promised the state's 58 counties wouldn't be left paying the costs.

He would go to the voters for the money, he said. He would push for a state constitutional guarantee, he vowed. He would do whatever was necessary, he declared.

It hasn't quite worked out that way. The money has been slow to come and less than what's needed for the flood of criminals the counties must now supervise.

Since October 2011, counties have been incarcerating, supervising and trying to rehabilitate convicted criminals that previously went into the state prison system.

That change, or realignment, was made necessary by a federal court order demanding the state drastically reduce its prison population. Thousands of criminals who otherwise would have gone to prison have been diverted into county lockups, so many that the Brown administration is demanding that the federal court lift its oversight. So far the court has refused, although it has extended until this fall the deadline set earlier for full compliance. But others are making demands, too. The counties.

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman joined three other Valley lawmakers asking for more money to handle the prisoners the state has foisted on them.

The Stockton Democrat along with Assembly Democrats Henry Perea of Fresno, Adam Gray of Merced and Rudy Salas of Bakersfield recently sent a letter to Ana Matosantos, director of the state Department of Finance, asking the state to speed up allocations of money to handle what's become a flood of state prisoners into the county jails.

The 771 inmates San Joaquin County now supervises after release is about 48 percent higher than earlier state projections. The state money flow isn't 48 percent higher, of course.

Brown promised the counties wouldn't be saddled with the additional costs. Even if the counties eventually get the money - and that's a big if - dribbling it out slowly effectively saddles the counties with the costs.

Brown promised. It's time he make it happen. It's time we get the necessary future funds for this locked into law.